The mayors signed the agreement in Brussels in presence of European Comission president, José Manuel Durao Barroso; Jerzy Buzek from European Parliament, as well as the Spanish President, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and tue vice president of the Regions Committee, Ramón Luis Valcárcel. At the ceremony. The head of the EU thanked the mayors for their “leadership in the effort to stand up to the challenge” of global warming.
Barroso said he’s aware that “besides the environmental motivation, there’s also the objective of leveraging economic growth and recovery and employment generation opportunities” for the municipalities. The president of the European Parliament mentioned he has always “believed in the importance of local governments in developing and managing sustainable and competitive cities.” Buzek stressed that 75% of EU citizens live and work in cities, which is why urban areas emit the majority of CO2 to the atmosphere.
“We face one of the most attractive challenges”: Zapatero
Zapatero said in his speech that local authorities face “one of the most attractive, live-changing challenges” with climate change, a challenge that could also change “the lives and economies of many citizens” if “there’s the commitment of facing it (global warming) in its entirety”.
Finally, the President of Murcia, representing the Regions Committee, stated that for regional and local leaders “failure is not an option” regarding climate change and the failed Copenhagen summit. Valcárcel has stressed that the local entities “feel the heat of problems at their own door” and therefore “are responsible for finding solutions to it” for the future. Some of the Spanish cities that joined the declaration are Barcelona. Lleida, Castellón. Terrassa, Valencia and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
With today’s convention of mayors there are now 500 more signatures in a declaration for energetic efficiency since the local entities gathered last year for the first time. A total of over 1,600 mayors of thirty-six countries representing 120 million citizens have committed to reduce their emissions.
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